It caught us off-guard, but should Gigginstown loss have been a surprise?

Those who know him well will tell you that multiple Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins is endlessly well-mannered. But beneath the polite exterior, it is not uncomplimentary to say there is a fierce defiance bordering on stubbornness.

I first met Mullins in 2006, just as the then successful trainer was on the cusp of a decade-long rise to superstardom. Mid-interview down in his Co Carlow stables, he posed the question: ‘Do you run?’